Why are UK jobs so hard to apply to

[Arianasande]

I'm from the UK originally, but I've lived in other European countries for many years.

I work in education, but I'm not a teacher. I work in student services.

I've worked in many international schools and boarding schools.

I recently decided to come back to the UK. I applied for and I was offered a job in student services in the UK.

But omg the amount of checks! They did a DBS check on me. That came back fine.

Then they did a load of other checks on me. Which were their own company checks. These seemed to go on forever.

Then there were so many checks to make sure I had the right to work in the UK. I supplied my UK birth certificate at the start of the process. Which wasn't enough.

I provided two references which came back successfully. Then they asked me for another reference. Then they asked me for a fourth reference. At this stage I said no. And I said "normally two references are sufficient. "
The hiring man then said "well it's just that we like to do very thorough checks".

I was then talking to a teacher here in my international school. Shs is from the UK. And she said the same thing. She said that she was thinking about moving back to the UK, but that the amount of checks and the amount of hassle put her off. She applied for a job, and They also told her that one of her references was not good enough. So she decided to stay in her international school outside of the uk.

Its like they treat you like your are a criminal! I was wondering why it's like this.

No it's not a state school.

Private schools still have to follow the rules. They may not be inspected by OFSTED but they have to be inspected by ISI and if ISI find that safer recruitment procedures have not been followed they can call OFSTED in and the school can ultimately be closed down (after giving them chances to improve of course).

And OP yes, if your contract states 1 month notice then you adhere to that but your previous post stated it was the law. In some schools depending on the role they will allow support staff to give one month notice, in other schools they will make it the half term notice.

no they don’t?

anyway, OP might be working at a college or uni.

If your other job offer is UK, the same additional recruitment checks are likely to be needed if you accept that one.

Schools don't start the bulk of recruitment checks until after the job offer has been accepted. So turning diwn this one and accepting the other one will just mean you start again.

AquaPeer - could be private but not necessarily. All three of the (state school) trusts I've worked for have had aspects of their own extra-mile recruitment checks.

I do understand that the schools have to do checks.

I think it's just because I haven't employed for a UK job in a while, I found the process shocking.

And it's not just me who feels like this. I was talking to a woman who works in my school. She's from the UK. She's a qualified teacher. She has worked in international and boarding schools for years around Europe.

She told me that she applied for a job in the UK, as she wanted to be near her parents, but she gave up, as she found the application process so stressful

Yes they do.

It's set out in Keeping Children Safe in Education

But OP has clearly said it’s not a state school. How does not necessarily come in? Surely she knows where she’s applied 😂😂

I was typing while she answered. Crossed post.

KCSiE applies to all schools, private state or boarding, EYFS to 16-18.

The context to their request is presumably linked to Ruth Perry and the “failed” inspection for allegedly not carrying out due diligence on an overseas visitor to the school?

Not only is that guidance, having just skimmed through 185 pages it doesn’t say anything about 5 references- neither is it that specific

its also clear from the SEN guidance, that even in my limited knowledge, LAs and schools are frequently ignoring the guidance and indeed the law around their obligations there 😱

I don't know. I do see it from their side.

But im also looking at it from my side. I did start to think - maybe I should stay in my current job.

I do understand how invasive it can feel.

I suspect yours are complicated by the fact that your employment history is overseas.

If/once you have 5y consistent uk job history, with no gaps in employment, then recruitment will be a lot easier for you to move between uk schools. That will just need two references, DBS, ID and qualifications checks. I think these are things you would expect anyway, even from overseas.

Are there any gaps in your employment history? If not, I would imagine the extra checks are because your employment history is non-uk, and the need to confirm right to work.

This reminds me of the fact my phone number used to belong to a bank/agency nurse called violet. The agency would phone up offering shifts, when I said I wasn't Violet they just said 'oh, but are you a nurse?' they were going to try and still get me to cover the shifts?! So I could've probably worked as one and nobody would have checked?! I found that so bizarre!

KCSiE isn't just guidance AquaPear.

No I have no gaps. Yes I guess they wanted an extra reference because I was abroad.

It was negotiable. Because when I said no. Well I didn't outright say no. I just said "normally two references are sufficent". Because I was just a bit fed up of him asking me for more and more stuff. Every day I was getting an email from him.

He then said sorry two references are okay.

I just hope that job will be okay

The OP isn't a teacher though so unsure why everyone is rambling on About teachers

Try getting to be someone who can request DBS checks when you have no passport and all the bills are in your partners name..... That was months of fun! 😂

That's nothing. I'm a self employed accountant - don't employ anyone else. I'm required by law to undertake a criminal record check on myself to provide evidence to myself that I've not got a criminal record!

You really couldn't make up this crap!

That's a whole different issue.

I completely appreciate that moving to live in a new county, presumably with all the complications that brings of selling a house, finding somewhere to live, getting a new job, leaving behind friends and family, worries about finding new friends, fitting into a new community - I understand the huge stresses you must be under outside of this recruitment stress.

Then these hassles may make you question if all the rest of the stresses are worth it. Only you can decide that. But if they're happy to offer you without thr extra references then the problem is solved anyway. And while it might be an annoyance, giving then an extra name or two who will vouch for your trustworthiness is not going to cause you too much stress, in the grand scheme of things.

This isn't personal. It's not you, personally, they don't trust. It's just a process they have to follow, that's all.

Haha!

Yes it probably is just a build up of a ball of stress of a lot of things!

Then I started to doubt if I made the right choice in applying for this job at all.

But I guess once I make the move and I'm settled, it'll be easier.

At my last job (employed as the safeguarding lead, no less) I faced recruitment complications when appointed because I don't have a copy of my birth certificate.

I've never had one. Lost years ago and never had reason to replace it. I've got everything else - driving licence, passport, mortgage statements, bank statements, HMRC letters, marriage certificate. It never mattered that I'd not got a birth certificate.

But new job insisted on a birth certificate for recruitment checks. I kicked back, said all the rest of my ids were enough (they were). But trust policy was birth certificate was essential. So, at the age of 40-something having not had a birth certificate for 20-plus years, I had to pay for a copy of mine. Just to appease the Trust extra-careful checks.

When deciding to buy a new copy of my birth certificate for my new employer, I balanced how not providing it made me look, against the hassle/cost of getting a new copy. I decided the time and relatively low cost were worth it, for the sake of a good first impression.

Just to add as well @Arianasande that if you are coming back to the UK (now or intending at some point), I strongly recommend getting your overseas police check equivalent of DBS and a certified translated copy for the entire time you spend overseas, so right before you return to the UK to cover any period of absence from the UK (holidays aside). It's a lot easier to obtain while you are living in the country than from a distance once you get back to the UK and realise you might need it or are asked for it. This is from personal experience of living and working abroad in education and returning to the UK education sector.

Please also don't underestimate reverse culture shock.

Thanks @HundredPercentUnsure . I did already get that, the certificate of my overseas police check, and I sent that to my new UK employer aswell.

Excellent. I'm still asked for mine from the first country I lived abroad in over 10y ago.